Stephen vail



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

S. VAIL. GOIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE.

Patented OQBWQG.

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UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

STEPHEN 'VAIL, OF l ElV YORK, N. Y.

COIN-CONTROLLED VENDING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 569,775, dated October20, 1896. Application filed January 25, 1896. Serial No. 576,811- (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, STEPHEN VAIL, of New York, in the county and Stateof New York, have in vented anew and useful Improvement in CoinGontrolled Vending Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in coin-controlledvending-machines in which the coin is utilized to lock the plunger tothe push-rod for the purpose of operating the discharge mechanism, theobject being to provide a simple and efiective machine in which the coinwill be permanently removed from its operative position the moment theplunger reaches the end of a predetermined movement and in which disks,other than the coin intended to be used, will be to a great extentprevented from operating the machine.

A further ohjectis to provide means for closing the mouth of thedischarge-chute intermediate of successive operations of the plunger toprevent unintentional interference with the operation of the machine.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a vertical section throughthe casing from front to rear, showing the operating parts in elevationand in normal position. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the operatingparts in the position which they assume when the article is about to bedischarged. Fig. 3 is a view in detail, showing the operating partsexclusive of the discharge mechanism in elevation on the opposite sidefrom that shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. i is a view in detail, showing atransverse section through the parts represented in Fig. 3 along theplane of the line i l of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a front view of the machineshown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 6 is a vertical section from front to rearthrough the lower portion of the casin g, showing the form andarrangement of the parts when the machine is adapted to dispensecigarettes or other similar packages in the shape of small cylinders;and Fig. 7 is a transverse section through the plane of line 7 7 of Fig.6.

The casing (denoted by A) may be of any desired form suitable for thehousing of the operating mechanism and the articles to be dispensed, theobject being to make the casing as small as consistent with the desiredcapacity of the machine for economizing space and expense.

In the present instance I have shown the operating-plunger B asprojecting from the top of the machine, while the receptacle C, forholding the articles to be dispensed, is located at the front of themachine between the plunger and p ush-rod and the front of the casing,the discharge-chute 0, leading from the said receptacle to the table a,projecting forwardly from the base of the machine.

The coin-chute of leads from the top of the machine downwardly andfinallycurves in a direction to land a coin horizontallybetween theplunger 13 and the push-bar'D.

The plunger B is developed at its inner end, where it engages the coin,into a pair of fingers b b, separated from each other at such a distancethat their ends will engage the coin of proper dimensions in proximityto its periphery, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The coin (represented byE) is held in a position to be engaged by the fingers I) Z) by sideguides c 6, having their free ends turned toward one another, as shownat e" a to prevent the coin from tilting either edgewise or forwardlyout of position to be engaged, as aforesaid, by the ends of the fingersI) b. The coin is further held in position by a narrow ridge 12 fixed tothe casing and having its lower end beveled, as shown at Z2 tocorrespond with the bevel b on the opposite side of the passage-way ofthe coin for the purpose of slipping the coin bodily edgewise out ofengagement with one of the fingers l) I) when the plunger has been moveda distance sufficient to perform the necessary operations. Aspring-actuated dog F is pivoted to the plunger B in position to causeits nose to travel along a' series of ratchet-teeth f, fixed to thecasing, and prevent the return movement of the plunger B until the dog Fhas been carried past the series of ratchet-teethf, which distance is sodetermined with respect to the coin-discharging bevcls l) I) that thecoin will be discharged before the dog F has been carried past thelowermost tooth of the series f. IVhen the dog F has been carried pastthe series of teeth f, it will be free to trail back over the series asthe plunger is returned by its actuating-spring B.

The push-bar D is so located with respect to the position which the coinis to occupy When engaged by the fingers I) I) that the coin will bearcentrally against the end of the push-bar D, and so long as the coin isengaged by the fingers b I) itwill lock the push-bar to the plunger andcause the former to move, together with the plunger, to effect thedischarge of the article, and in the present instance the additionaloperation of opening the gate to permit the article to be discharged, asfollows:

The push-bar D is mounted in sliding bearings in a suitable plate G,fixed to the casing, and at its lower end is widened to permit theformation of an angular slot cl therein for operating the gate. Theplate G is provided with a recess g at its lower end for the receptionof a pair of studs or pins d (1 projecting laterally from the push-bar Din position to engage the short arm h of an angle-lever pivoted at II tothe casing and having its longer arm 7L connectedloosely with adischarge-plate I, which normally occupies a position back of thelowermost of a column of articles K to be dispensed. The dischargechutec is normally closed by a gate L, which has an opening Z thereinsufficiently large for the passage through the gate of one of thearticles K. The gate L is loosely connected with the long arm m of anangle-lever pivoted at M and having its short arm m provided with a studor pin m which enters the angular slot (Z in the push-bar. The angularslot (Z is so formed with respect to the gate operating lever that atthe beginning of the downward movement of the push-bar the short arm mof the lever will be thrown rearwardly and the long arm m thereby belifted, carrying with it the gate L, so as to bring the opening l in thegate opposite the dischargechute c to permit the article to bedischarged. There is a little lost motion provided for between the pinsor studs cl (1 and the short arm h of the discharge-lever, so that thegate may be opened before the discharge-lever is operated by thecontinued downward movement of the push-bar. As soon as the gate isopened the lever which operates it will be held in position to hold thegate open by the upright portion of the angular slot (I, while the longarm h of the discharge-lever will be forced forwardly, carrying with itthe discharge-plate I, to push the article K through the openinglin thegate onto the table a. The parts are so timed that this discharge of thearticle will take place just before the coin is crowded from in front ofthe plunger, which promptly (by the tilting of the coin when unsupportedby one of the fingers b b) releases the push-bar from the plunger andpermits the push-bar to return under the tension of its spring N, whichreturn movement also withdraws the discharge-plate I to its normalposition (shown in Fig. 1) and the gage to its normal closed position.

If the disk inserted be of less diameter than the coin which is intendedto operate the machine, it will not be engaged by the ends of thefingers of the plunger and hence will fail to lock the plunger to thepush-bar. If it be of soft metal, such, for example, as lead or tin, itwill be bent by the pressure of the ends of the fingers against itsmargin before it operates the push-bar and will fail to lock the plungerto the push-bar. If it have a hollow center, it will be pushed by theplunger idly over the upper end of the push-barwithout looking the twotogether and hence will not work the machine.

Ihave shown the plunger and push-bar arranged slanting in order that thecoin may have no tendency to rebound out of its operating position. thatthe said plunger and push-bar might be arranged in a substantiallyhorizontal position and the coin dropped directly into position betweenthem, if so desired.

WVhere the form of package to be vended is that of a small cylinder,such, for example, as a cigarette, the arrangement of the parts may beslightly modified from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the form shown inFig. 6 being an arrangement suitable for the purpose. In this structurethe discharge-plate (denoted by I) is provided with a pocket '6 for thereception of one of the articles to be vended, and as the push-bar D isforced downwardly it will cause the discharge-plate I to sliderearwardly and bring the pocket '0' over the discharge-chute e, suchreverse action of the plate I being effected by simply reversing thelever h h and by pivoting it upon the opposite side of the push-bar. itsoperating-lever will be opened and closed in this form in a manner quitesimilar to that already described.

The plate I is provided with a rib or ridge 2" on its upper side inproximity to the pocket i for the purpose of agitating the articleswithin the supply-receptacle and insuring the passage of one of theminto the pocket 1..

hat I claim is 1. The combination with a plunger, a dis charge mechanismand a push-bar connected with the discharge mechanism, the plunger andthe push-bar having their adjacent ends. the one forked and the othercentrally located with respect the said forked end, of

It is obvious, however,

The gate and provided with a receptacle for the articles to be dispensedand a discharge-chute, of a reeiprocating push-bar, a plunger adapted tobe locked to and released from the pushbar by a @0111, EL reciprocatingdischarge-plate, a gate for opening and closing the dischargechnte, andangle-levers connecting the gate and the dischargeplate with thereeipr0cat ing push-bar controlled by the plunger and coin,substantially as set forth.

STEPHEN VAIL. Witnesses FREDK. HAYNES, IRENE B. DECKER.

